25th April

Good evening,
I thought that both selections yesterday ran respectable races despite drifting like the proverbial barge! Chosen Character ran as if the run was needed and was unfortunate not to finish closer as he was hit in the face by an opponents whip approaching the final furlong, he may have finished closer but he was never going to win but I expect he will come on for the run and win a race in the near future but the price is probably ruined now.
At Windsor Desert Strike was eventually well beaten and we can now probably account that to the ground as he didn't pick up when looking in with a chance, he looked a bit keen and was eventually eased finishing not too far behind. Better ground will suit him next time and a couple lbs drop from the handicapper will do no harm either ;)
As a mental note I have marked yesterday down as money lent to the bookies rather than lost as I hope we can get a win out of one or both of these when the right conditions present themselves over their next couple of runs and more importantly at odds representing value.

Looking at tomorrows cards I have decided to overlook Epsom all together and swerved any bets but at Catterick I will mention Northern Bolt in the 17:50, he is a real soft ground horse and has a very good record at Catterick winning twice and placing from 5 runs with the other two coming when he was unfit returning from a 68 day break or racing over a furlong too far. LTO at Thirsk he ran well to finish 4/15 and even better when you consider he was sluggish at the start and wasn't helped by a poor draw, that was only his second run back and he tends to need at least a couple to show his best after a break. He is dropped in class here to the lowest grade handicap he has been eligible for since his win at Catterick last July. He will need some pace to run at and it looks as though he will get that here with Spirit of Coniston, Blueberry Fizz and Greenhead high having a history for forcing the issue. Everything looks set for a win for Northern Bolt tomorrow and I wouldn't put anyone off having a point on him at 4/1+ but the 3/1 with B365 is too skinny for me so I can't advise it.

Best of luck if you do decide to play tomorrow.